mahlouk مهلوك
Algerian Darja · adjective
“mahlouk” (مهلوك) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning exhausted, worn out, spent.
Meanings
- exhausted, worn out, spent
- in bad shape, in poor condition
Usage
Mahlouk describes great tiredness, physical or nervous: after a day's work, a journey, a sleepless night. It is stronger than "tired" and close to "knackered" or "wiped out". It is said of oneself ("rani mahlouk") as well as of others, and the feminine is mahlouka. The word is linked to the root of hlak (to ruin, to wear out): "hlakni l-khedma" means "work wore me out". It can also describe a very worn-out object. Informal register, very common in speech.
Example
رجعت من الخدمة مهلوك، ما نقدرش نهدر.
rja3t mel khedma mahlouk, ma neqderch nahder.
“I came back from work exhausted, I can't even talk.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mahlouk” but also “mehlouk”, “mehlook” and “mahlok”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mahlouk” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “exhausted, worn out”; “sick, unwell”: mahlouk in Tunisian.